Percy's kids read the Lightning Thief
by LeoHazelForever
Summary: Many years after the Titian and Giant wars Percy and Annabeth got married and had kids and were happily living in New Greece. But Percy refuses to tell his children about his adventures, then a present appeared under the tree at Christmas containing some very interesting books which overjoys the children and they start to read in secret.
1. Chapter 1

**Percy's kids read the lightning thief**

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**Disclaimer...  
**

Someone long ago

said I couldn't do fun disclaimers no mo

so now I say I don't PJO

or HoO

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Before you read I want you to know who kids are and their personalities. These are all Greek names

Deion: Is a boy with black hair and grey eyes. He is 13 years old. He acts very much like his father, he cracks jokes and don't let him fool you he is very smart. So, with that deadly mix, he often pranks the whole except his mother. ( he is scared of her)

Aggie: Is a small girl with golden curls like heer mother, and green eyes. She got dads kindness and mom's skills with a knife even though shes seven. She is the sweetie of the house hold, it's impossible not to fall in love with her.

Anders: Is 14 years old and very smart. He seems to lean more on moms side. He has blonde hair and grey eyes. he tends to point out when someones wrong, so he doesn't get along well with the rest of us.

Letta: Finally me, I am 15 years old. I have black hair and green eyes. I'm impulsive like my dad, so I get in trouble a lot much to my mom distain. But I haven't been kicked out once, since I go to school in new Greece.

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Prologue

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We were in the living room waiting for my mom and dad to get back from their lessons. My dad taught swordplay, since he is the best swordsman in 300 years. And my mom teaches ancient greek. They were hoping to come home early because it was Christmas time. And I was stuck baby sitting here in our house in half-blood street in New Greece until they came home.

New Greece was a fairly new city. It was built a few years before I was born. My parents wanted a place for Greek demigods to grow up and have kids with out the chance of getting attacked by monsters.

I was sitting in the Lazy boy in the living room watching the T.V. randomly checking on the kids. Anders was sitting on the couch reading one of moms super boring books on only Zeus knows what. Aggie was running around in her holiday p.j.s. She got so excited when our parents came back. And Deion was sitting next to the tree shaking presents. Then suddenly he stopped on one blue present. He looked at me and opened his mouth to talk.

But that's when Aggie screamed, "Daddy!".

I couldn't help but get excited, my dad was the best. He was cool about us getting in trouble, he cracks jokes and he never gets tired of us.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!", she laughed so loud Anders put on noise canceling ear phones. I rolled my eyes at him and looked back at my dad. He now had Aggie thrown over his shoulder and was running around. I couldn't help but smile at the site.

We get in trouble a lot and that means detention in school and Deion put down the present and ran to dad with a piece of paper and a bag of blue candy. Deion probably got detention or something, but we figured out a long time ago that if we bribe dad with blue candy you can get away with anything.

Dad looked both ways looking for mom and signed the slip of paper and took the candy.

Deion smiled at dad and dad smiled back and zipped his mouth and trew away key.  
Then he walked over to me and started talking. But he's still acting like his mouth is zipped up, so his words were still muffled,

I laughed and unzipped his mouth.

"Hey dad, when's mom getting home?", I asked.

"She's doing some work on Olympus, so that means we can do whatever we want!" Then he picked up Aggie and did a raspberry right on her belly. She giggled so much I thought she was going to explode. Anders put his hands on his headphones pushing them closer to his ears. Deion was digging into the snack stash that dad hide for us, because mom wanted to torture us with healthy food. This was going to be a fun night.

** []**

Finally, dad got all parent like and told us to go to bed. Which we did, but before I could go in to my room, Deion pulled me in to his room. I looked down at him to see him holding the present he was looking at before.

"Why did you bring this up here?", I asked.

"Look at it", He shoved the present at me.

The present was ten or eleven pounds, and just by looking at it I could tell the wrapping was folded from the crests of waves. I slowly looked at the tag and gasped.

**To: Letta, Anders, Deion, and Aggie**

**Open it in secret**

**From: Grandpa Poseidon**

"Should we tell dad?", Deion asked.

"No", I answered,"Grandpa said to open it in secret, get the others, bring them in my room. And we'll open it."

** []**

"What are we doing here?", Anders asked in a bored tone.

"We got a special present from Grampa P", I answered and everyone stared at the present in awe.

"So", I said clasping my hands together," Lets open it."

I carefully opened the wrapping and put it to the side. What sat in front of us now was a stack of five books.

" Really? Books? That's what he sends us!" Deion exclaimed like the world was over. Anders however looked excited.

I picked up the first book which had a note attached to it. I cleared my throat and started to read the note.

**Dear Letta, Anders, Deion and Aggie,**

**Merry Christmas, I believe it's high time for you to learn your father's adventures, even if he doesn't want you to. These are what happened to your father when he was young and what he thought. Enjoy.**

**Grandpa Poseidon**

"Yay!", Aggie said merrily,"We get to learn daddy's adventures!"

I couldn't blame her for being curious, mom and dad, well anyone never talked about what happened in the past. But we know that if our dad never had been born the world as we know it would be gone.

" Yes! Lets start reading," Deion exclaimed then he looked at himself weirdly," I can't believe I just said that."

"Me neither", Anders muttered.

But I laughed at Deion and said," You're so like dad."

He beamed.

"Ok lets start", I said as I opened the book to the fist chapter and started reading.

**'I accidentally vaporize my pre-algebra teacher'**

Deion laughed," Oh yeah, this'll be good!"

** []**

**Whoopee! First chapter!**

**Hope you'll like it!**

**And one more thing...**

**REVIEW! I say REVIEW!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Percy's kids read the lightning theif  
**

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**Disclaimer  
**

I have to do boring disclaimers now, so I do not own the PJO series or the HoO series, Rick does.

Boring? isn't it?

I thought so.

**[]  
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**Yay! First Chapter! Wait or is it second? Ehh, what the heck I don't care! Here goes nothing!**

**[]  
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"**I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"**

Deion laughed," Oh yeah, this'll be good!"**  
**

"**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood**

We all looked quizzical, from what we saw being an half blood was fun.**  
**

**"If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your ****mom**** or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life."**

"That might work, since if you don't know you're a halfblood you're scent is less noticable by monsters," Anders said matter of factly.

"Anders?"

"Yes?"

" Shut up!"

Anders huffed and muttered about stupid sisters.**  
**

**"Being a half-blood is dangerous."**

"Wait, what?",I thought.**  
**

**"It's scary."**

" I don't think that's right." Aggie said.**  
**

**"Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways."**

"Think guys this is before everything happened, it was a time when demi-gods were hunted down", I said now getting it.**  
**

"Oh", Aggie said now getting it ,"It must have been hard on daddy."

Frankly I never thought it was hard to be a demigod, especially for my dad he turned out happy and go lucky.

**"If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened."**

"That means I'm the only one who can read it, you people are defiantly not normal", Anders muttered.

"Who says that's a bad thing," Deion stated," Normal's boring."**  
**

**"But if you recognize yourself in these pages —if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before **_**they**_** sense it too, and they'll come for you."**

"Who's they?", Aggie asked.

"Monsters, sweetie," I answered.**  
**

**"Don't say I didn't warn you."**

"Dramatic much?", Deion snorted.**  
**

**"My name is Percy Jackson."**

"And my name is Deion Jackson,"

" Deion! shut up and let me read!" I screamed.

He shrunk under my glare, scary glares, I must have gotten that from my mom.

**"I'm twelve years old.** **Until a **_**few**_** months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for ****troubled kids**** in upstate New York.** **Am I a troubled kid?"**

"Yes!" we all shouted.**  
**

**"Yeah. You could say that."**

"He even agrees," Deion chortled," That's why dad's my favorite!".

"Maybe I should tell mom that," I said evilly.

He paled.

**"I could start at any point in my short, miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the ****Metropolitan Museum of Art**** to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff."**

"Sounds fun", Anders said.

"You're idea of fun sounds like torture", Deion remarked.

I laughed at the next line.**  
**

**"I know—it sounds like torture."**

Deion blushed and beamed at the same time for thinking like dad. I'm pretty sure Deion was dad's clone.**  
**

**"Most Yancy field trips were."**

**"But Mr. Brunner, out Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes."**

**"Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee."**

"Sounds like Chiron", I muttered.**  
**

**'"You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep."**

**"I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble."**

"Yeah right, dad's middle name is trouble", Deion said.**  
**

**"Boy, was I wrong."**

**'See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway."  
**

By now we were all (except Anders, he's too mature for that) rolling around from laughter.

"I wonder what he was aiming at.", I managed to gasp between fits of laughter.

" I dunno the air!", Deion exclaimed.**  
**

**"And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim."**

Another round of laughs**.  
**

**"And the time before that… Well, you get the idea."**

**"This trip, I was determined to be good."**

"Good luck with that, dad", I said knowing he was about to get in trouble again.**  
**

**"All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich."**

"Ewww!", Aggie screeched.

We all nodded.**  
**

**"Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled."**

**"He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria."**

We all laughed, 'good old Grover and his obsession with enchiladas'.**  
**

**"Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation."**

**"The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip."**

" Oh I feel you dad," Deion said putting a hand on his heart.

I rolled my eyes and said,"This is going to take forever with the commentary."

He stuck his tounge at me.**  
**

""**I'm going to kill her," I mumbled."**

**"Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter.""**

"I do to," Aggie stated," But not in my hair!"**  
**

**"He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch."**

""**That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

""**You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens.""**

**"Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there."**

" Me too", Deion muttered.**  
**

**"In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into."**

**"Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.** **He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery."**

**"It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.** **He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele**_**, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting,"**

I fake-gasped," He thinks it's . . . interesting."**  
**

Deion was trying, but failing not to laugh.

"I guess thats why mom likes him", Aggie said giggling.**  
**

Anders looked like he found a new respect for dad.

**"But everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye."**

"Why would she do that?! He is trying to learn!", Anders shouted.

We all looked at him strangely until he calmed down.**  
**

**"Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown."**

"I don't think that was an accident", I muttered.**  
**

**"From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was a devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.** **One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right.""**

"Definitely a monster," I confirmed.

"No dip sherlock!" Anders remarked.

I glared at him until he shuddered**.  
**

**"Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art."**

**"Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you **_**shut up**_**?""**

" Yeah, go dad!," Deion whooped.

Anders rolled his eyes.

**"It came out louder than I meant it to."**

**"The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story."**

**"**"**Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?""**

**"My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir.""**

We snickered.**  
**

**"Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**"I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

**"**"**Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied."**

**"**"**And he **_**did**_** this because…"**."

""**Well…" I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and— ""**

Angers was banging his head against the wall wondering how his dad could be so stupid.

"What? I thought it was right?", Deion questioned.

"_Sooooo_ much like dad.", Anders said getting away from the wall.

Deion beamed**.  
**

""**god?" Mr. Brunner asked."**

""**Titan." I corrected myself. "And… he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—""**

""**Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me."**

"I agree with them," Aggie said cutely," Eeew is right."**  
**

""—**and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won.""**

**"Some snickers from the group"**

"What are they laughing at? He got it right!", I exclaimed.

"Mortals are weird," Deion commented.

"Don't tell Rachel that!"

We laughed.**  
**

**"Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'""**

"**And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

" Take that Bobafit!" Deion whooped.

"Deion be quiet you might wake up dad!", I hushed him and continued reading.**  
**

"**Busted," Grover muttered."**

"**Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair."**

**"At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears."**

"Horse ears" Deion coughed.

We grinned.**  
**

**"I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir.""**

"**I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "well, half-credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

We laughed.**  
**

**"The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses."**

**"Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson.""**

**'I knew that was coming."**

**"I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**"Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything."**

"**You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.'**

"**About the Titans?"**

" Yes about the Titans", I muttered sarcastically.**  
**

"**About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

"**Oh."**

"**What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**"I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard."**

"It's for the best", I told the book.**  
**

**"I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever **_**lived**_**, and their mother, and what god they worshiped.** **But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be **_**as good;**_** he expected me to be **_**better.**_** And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly."**

**"I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral."**

"He probably was.", Aggie said sadly.

"How come?", Deion asked.

"He's immortal", Anders said.

"What!", Deion exclaimed.

_Soo like dad_, I thought.**  
**

**"He told me to go outside and eat my lunch."**

**"The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue."**

**"Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city.I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York State had been weird since 'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in."**

" Sounds like Grandpa Poseiden and Great Uncle Zeus are fighting again" Aggie remarked.

I nodded, but this sounded a lot worse.**  
**

**"Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that**_** school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere."**

"Next time I see dad I'm gonna give him a big hug to make him feel better." Aggie said.

I smiled at her sweetness, but truly I felt guilty. I never considered my dad's feelings. He was always set aside his feelings for ours.**  
**

"**Detention?" Grover asked."**

"**Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

Anders snorted," That's an understatment."

We glared at him.**  
**

**"Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

We laughed,'Typical Grover'**  
**

**"I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it."**

**"I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home."**

"Yeah Grandma Jackson is the best!" Aggie exclaimed.

We nodded, she really is.**  
**

**"She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me."**

"He is such a mama's boy, but in a dorky way."

We nodded, grinning, dad really loves his mom.**  
**

**"Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table."**

**"I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap."**

" Cue butt whooping dad!", Deion yelled.

He was right, dad never let anyone pick on his friends or family.**  
**

"**Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears."**

**"I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

"Yeah!"

"Take that!"

" Guys you might wake dad up!"

We quickly shut up reliezing we had been yelling.**  
**

**"Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us."**

**"Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

"—**the water—"**

"—**like it grabbed her—"**

We snickered.**  
**

**"I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again."**

**"As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester."**

"She probably was, but why did she wait so long?" Anders exclaimed clearly frusterated about not knowing something.**  
**

"**Now, honey—" **

"**I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"No! never guess you're punishment!" Deion shouted.

"It's seems the student has become the master", Anders muttered.**  
**

**"That wasn't the right thing to say."**

"Duh!"**  
**

"**Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

"**Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. **_**I**_** pushed her."**

"That was brave", I said," But it won't work."**  
**

**"I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death."**

**"She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled."**

"**I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said."**

"**But—"**

"**You—**_**will**_**—stay—here."**

**"Grover looked at me desperately."**

"**It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

"No" we all moaned.**  
**

"**Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**."**

**"Nancy Bobofit smirked."**

**"I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare."**

"Seriously The I'll-kill-you-later stare? Dad has such weird names for things", Deion said shaking his head.

"Like you're any better," I countered.

He grumbled.**  
**

**"Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on."**

**'How'd she get there so fast?'**

"Monster."**  
**

**'I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.'**

"Monster."**  
**

**'I wasn't so sure.'**

**'I went after Mrs. Dodds.'**

**'Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.'**

**'I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.'**

"Mons-"

"We know she's a monster, now shut up!" We all yelled at Anders.**  
**

**'Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.'**

**'But apparently that wasn't the plan.'**

**'I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.'**

**'Except for us, the gallery was empty.'**

"Great no witnesses", Deion said sarcastically.

Another thing, Deion and I seemed to get dads sarcasm gene.**  
**

**'Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.'**

**'Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…'**

"**You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.'**

**'I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."  
**

We all snorted, Dad doing the safe thing was an extremely rare sight.**  
**

**'She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**'The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.'**

**'She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.'**

**'I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**'Thunder shook the building.''**

" I wonder what they are fighting about?"**  
**

"**We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

"What the heck is she talking about?", Deion as I snickered an read the next line.**  
**

**'I didn't know what she was talking about.'**

Deion blushed.**  
**

**'All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room.'**

**"**Yeah that's it ..."

"I guess dads just always has been crazy about candy."**  
**

**'Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.'**

Anders looked hurt and we laughed.**  
**

"**Well?" she demanded.'**

"**Ma'am, I don't…"**

"**Your time is up," she hissed.'**

We tensed, we all wanted to know how dad delt with his first monster**  
**

**'Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.'**

" A FURY! HIS FRIST MONSTER WAS A FURY AND HE DIDN'T TELL US!" we all screeched. Dad never told us much about his past, but he could have told us that his first monster was one of the most dangerous monsters out there. We stared at the book in awe. How did he make it out? Our dad was one of the best fighters out there, but he's just a kid with no weapon and didn't know what was going on.

"How did he do it?", Deion whistpered.

"Well lets find out.", I answered.**  
**

**'Then things got even stranger.'**

"How could they get stranger?", Anders asked.**  
**

**'Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.'**

We all smiled at each other knowing this was the first time he used Riptide**.  
**

"**What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.'**

"What ho? seriously?", Deion laughed despite the tension in the air.**  
**

**'Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.'**

The tension rose.**  
**

**'With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.'**

I smiled she was going to get it.**  
**

**'Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.'**

**'My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.'**

**'She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"Jeez, You can drop the honey!", I exclaimed.**  
**

**'And she flew straight at me.'**

**'Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.'**

**'The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss!'**_

We all cheered then quieted realizing dad was sleeping a few doors down.

**'Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.'**

We shuddered.**  
**

**'I was alone.'**

**'There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.'**

**'Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.'**

**'My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.'**

"Magic mushrooms?, Sounds something Deion would say."

Deion blushed.**  
**

**'I went back outside.'**

**'It had started to rain.'**

**'Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

**'I said, "Who?"**

"**Our **_**teacher**_**. Duh!" **

"Ahh the wonders of the mist", I said sarcastically.**  
**

**'I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.'**

**'She just rolled her eyes and turned away.'**

**'I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.'**

**'He said, "Who?"**

**'But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.'**

" He really is a bad liar" I chuckled.**  
**

"**Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**'Thunder boomed overhead.'**

"Seems like Zeus agrees," Anders commented.**  
**

**'I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.'**

**'I went over to him.'**

**'He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

We all chuckled.**  
**

**'I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.'**

"**Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**'He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"**The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**'He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Dad's gonna think he's going psycho", Deion said.

"I still can't believe dad at that age could handle a fury at that age." Aggie said.

"Okay Anders you read," I said passing Anders the book.**  
**

**'Three old ladys knit socks of death'  
**

"Weird"**  
**

**[]**

**Hoped you liked it!**

**Review I say... REVIEW!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Percy's kids read lightning theif  
**

**[]  
**

**I'm going to answer some questions...  
**

**1) Percy and other characters will come in later, since it's a large book. I don't want to use all characters in the first few chapters.  
**

**2) It might take 2 days or 5 days for me to update.  
**

**3) I really don't know about going all the way to HoO series, I might just be doing this book.  
**

**[]  
**

**Disclaimer  
**

**Me:(Sharpening my knife)  
**

**Grover walks up staring nervously at the knife,  
**

**Grover: Um, Hey, I've got a message from Rick  
**

**Me: Oh, Is he still scared?  
**

**Grover: Well, you attacked him  
**

**Me: Good point, And why are you here?  
**

**Grover: You know you have to give a disclaimer  
**

**Me:(gives a long sigh)Fine alright, Rick owns you, Tell me when he less scared of me because I hate doing disclaimers, Bye Grover.  
**

**[]  
**

**HeHeHe! Hello again..**

**[]**

"**Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death,"**

"Weird"

"I wonder what that means"

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly.**

**This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

We all snorted.

"Dad is Psycho!", Deion chortled.

" So that's were Deion gets his psycho gene," Anders wondered out loud.

Deion pouted.

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

"Ten buck says it's Grover's fault", Deion betted.

" None of us are stupid enough to take that bet", Anders responded.

No one could disagree with him, Grover is a terrible liar.

**Almost.**

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"I knew it!"

"Shut up!"

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

**Something was going on. Something **_**had **_**happened at the museum.**

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. **

"Hmm, I wonder why great uncle Zeus is mad.", Aggie said thoughtfully.

"Yeah whats got his toga in a twist?", Deion asked.

We sniggered.

Thunder boomed.

"Sorry!", Deion said quickly.

**A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from D's to F's.**

Anders gasped in horror. We laughed, he was so serious about grades.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends.**

"Woohoo!go dad!", yelled Deion loudly.

I shushed him even though I agreed.

**I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

I chuckled, it's just like dad to get in trouble. I remember when mom found his stash of blue candy from all the times we had bribed him. He couldn't tell her so mom went crazy for not knowing something.

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"I am sooo gonna us that in class", Deion said evilly.

"It means-", Anders started.

Then we all shouted,"We don't care!"

Then we tensed and quieted, we just heard shuffling in the other room.

After a few minutes of waiting to make sure dad was still asleep.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

"Poor Daddy, that must have been rough," Aggie murmured.

I was secretly guilty I never knew dads life was so hard.

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick**

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side,**

"Grandma Jackson's great", Aggie exclaimed.

We nodded she really was.

**Even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

We all made quizzical looks, Grandpa Paul hated poker. And he and dad got along perfectly.

**And yet… there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods outside my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange.**

**I was worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"Awww", Aggie sqealed,"Daddy's so sweet!"

We smiled, dad always cared for his friends and family.

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-or-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"He should"

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room**

Anders looked at the book disbelievingly that someone would do such a thing. I laughed at his expression, he was the complete opposite of dad.

Deion put his hand over his heart and nodded approvingly.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,Or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"A bad feeling," Deion muttered with a grimace on his face.

I didn't ask but I knew he was at the other end of a Stoll kid prank.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. **_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book. I'd never asked a teacher for help before**.

"No wonder he gets bad grade," Anders muttered.

We glared at him, he should respect dad even if he didn't want it.

**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.** **I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said,**

"… **worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

We snorted. We knew that wasn't true.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"A bet I would lose," Deion said.

**I inched closer.**

"… **alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**! Now that we know for sure, and **_**they **_**know too—"**

"**We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"**But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead line—"**

'Deadline?' we thought.

"**Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

"**Sir, he **_**saw**_** her… ."**

"**His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"**Sir, I … I can't fail in my duties again."**

**Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"I wonder what happened with Grover before," I wondered out loud.

"**You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

"Oh he's going to freak out!", Deion said.

I agreed, that would be a surprise.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"No! Don't give up your position!", Deion wailed.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"Yes retreat."

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop,**_** like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"**Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn …"**

"**Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

"Exams", Deion shuddered.

"**Don't remind me."**

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office. **

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

"**Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

"**You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

"**Just… tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression.**

"Won't work", we chorused.

**And started getting ready for bed.**

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"Why would he be in danger? Who is after him?", Anders asked some of the questions that are running through our minds.

His questions went unanswered.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"Three hours!", Deion excliamed then he fake passed out.

We rolled our eyes**.**

**My eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

"It's weird how many water puns he makes," I said.

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

"**Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's … it's for the best."**

"Harsh"

"He really isn't good at pep talks."

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"I wish I could punch her. Girl or not." Deion mumbled.

I smiled, he was so much like dad.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

"**I mean …" Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

**My eyes stung.**

"I'd cry too," Aggie said sadly.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"**Right," I said, trembling.**

"**No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say … you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

"**Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

"**Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich**_** juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"I don't think the gods would like that."

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

"**Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"Mean"

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,** **So there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"What a coincidence," Deion muttered sarcastically.

I grinned.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.**

**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"He's gonna scare the goat out of Grover!",Deion laughed.

I laughed and then Aggie said,"He's a scardy cat."

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much **_**did**_** you hear?"**

"Oh nothing much, just THE WHOLE THING!", Deion exclaimed loudly.

We shushed him.

"**Oh … not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"That's what I want to know!", Anders muttered.

Even though I wouldn't say this out loud, but I agree with him.

**He winced. "Look, Percy … I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"**

"**Grover—"**

"**And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and …"**

"Grover's a really bad liar."

Anders chuckled as he read the next line.

"**Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

Deion blushed.

**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

_**Grover Underwood**_

_**Keeper**_

"He is definitely not a keeper now", I said knowingly.

_**Half-Blood Hill**_

_**Long Island, New York**_

_**(800) 099-0009**_

"**What's Half—"**

"**Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um … summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

"**Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or …or if you need me."**

**Why would I need you?"**

"Harsh dad", Aggie muttered.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Good."

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me.**

"Awwww", Aggie cooed.

I smiled, I thought it was sweet too, no wonder dad has so many friends.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me**_**.**

"**Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under out feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.**

"Eww", Aggie said grossed out.

I agreed ever since a certain trouble maker decided to hide rotten eggs in his siblings rooms.

**The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

'Wait are they?, No, Are they?', I thought.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

Me and Anders shared a knowing look. He nodded at me worriedly, he must have guessed the same thing. 'What will happen to dad if he has seen the fates'

Deion and Aggie looked confused.

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

"Noooo", I moaned and I dropped my head in my hands,"What happened to him? Why didn't he tell us?"

To my surprise Anders got up and put an arm around him.

"What's wrong they're just old ladies?", Deion said clearly confused, then he saw Anders and my expressions.

"What's going to happened?", He asked more urgently.

"I hope not what I think is going to happen," Anders said.

I had the same idea, the fates rarely revealed themselves to anyone, whatever is going to happen is very important. I hope my dad won't get hurt.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

"**Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

"**Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

"**Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Dad not funny, this is serious"

Deion and Aggie looked nervous, they didn't know what was happening, but they knew it was a big deal.

"**Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

**The lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears.**

"No", I whispered,"He can't leave."

Anders looked devastated even though he didn't show it we all knew he loved dad. Deion was blinking furiously he and dad are best buddies, they get along great. And Aggie's lower lip was trembeling, she's smart, she knows what's going to happen.

**I heard Grover catch his breath.**

"**We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

"**What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

"Get in the bus!", Deion screamed but he knew it wouldn't work.

"**Come on!" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear the **_**snip**_** across four lanes of traffic.**

"No"

Aggie was now bawling, Anders was as stiff as stone, Deion was silently crying, And I wasn't doing any better.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

No one laughed, but I heard Deion mutter," Sasquatch, Godzilla's too big."

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

"**Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

That didn't help the mood.

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

"**Grover?" **

"**Yeah?"**

"**What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

"**You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like … Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"Worse"

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

"**The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

"**Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

**"It is"**

"**This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like last time."**

"What happened last time? Grover has never talked about it", Anders said quietly.

"**What last time?"**

"**Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

"**Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

"**Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could. **

"**Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

"**Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

This only made Aggie cry harder.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"Daddy!", Aggie shrieked and ran out the door. We quickly got up and followed her, we knew where she was going.

We caught up with here when she was right outside our parent's room. She burst through the door and dad had barely enough time to sit up when Aggie tackled our dad in the biggest bear hug she could manage. She was crying into his chest.

Dad looked at us with an obvious question in his eyes_ 'What happened?'_

I quickly spoke,"Nightmare."

He nodded, we were used to nightmares, since we were sons and daughters of demigods. Then we did something he didn't expect. We all rushed forward and hugged dad at the same time. He looked quizzical, probably wondering why we chose the middle of the night for a group hug.

Eventually we all sat back on the bed and dad asked Aggie what happened in the dream. She looked at me and I nodded.

She mumbled some stuff about the old ladies, and dad didn't freak out.

He nodded like he was expecting this to happen.

"You've gotta understand that they were showing me something that will happen to set the world straight, It didn't necessarily mean that something bad was going to happen to_ me._ Now kiddos it's the middle of the night, we need rest. Go back to sleep, see ya in the morning."

I yawned and realized how tired I was, I told the kids we'll read tomorrow.

**[]**

**REVIEW! And all that!**

**I just want to say hello to my followers out there!  
**

**See you next time! (Well not really 'see' but you get the point)  
**

**:D  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Percy's kids read the Lightning Theif**

**[]**

**Discliamer...**

**Yo!**

**I don't own Pjo or HoO! Riorden does!**

**[]**

After the 'incident' we all decided to go to sleep since

1) It was the middle of the night.

2) We all just had a emotional break down because our dad had an death omen when he was younger.

3) We needed to think over what dad said that it didn't mean his death.

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

[]

I bolted out of my bed, gasping for breath.

I had another nightmare. Even though I was used to it, this one was the most terrifying. I don't want to get into details, but I'll give you the short version.

_My dream started as I followed three kids, but when they turned around I saw the younger versions of Uncle Grover, My mom and dad. I followed them towards the Arch and soon enough they were riding up to the top in an elevator with a fat lady and a dog._

_When they reached the top Mom went all googly eyes around the place saying what she would do with it._

_Later Mom and Grover left and dad was left at the top. Not five seconds later the lady's dog leaped and transformed into a terrible beast. They fought for a while until my dad was poisoned and his sword fell through the gaping hole straight into the river._

_Soon my dad made his desperate decision he turned an leaped out to meet certain death._

I shock my head and stared at the clock and realized it was 8:30. I slowly started shuffling towards the kitchen where I could smell the special blue waffles dad makes. Also I could hear the sounds of screaming and yelling of my siblings.

Yep, just a normal morning for the Jackson family. Normal as in crazy.

As I walked in I took notice of what was happening, Deion had stolen one of Anders' books and was now running and laughing while Anders was yelling and chasing him.

Aggie was telling dad about her artwork that was given second place in the art completion at school and dad was smiling and congratulated her as he finished the waffles.

I slide next to Aggie in my seat at the counter. and grabbed two waffles.

"Morning Letta," I looked up and saw dad and smiled, but he eyed me warily and asked," Do you have anything to tell me?"

The only thing that aggravated me about dad was that he could read us like a book.

"No," I lied. I could tell he knew I was lying, but he didn't push it.

"Where's mom?", I asked trying to change the subject

"Oh, she just left, we tried to wake you up, but you were sleeping like a medusa victim as in to say like a rock." Dad joked.

We laughed.

Eventually we got out of our pjs and dad had to leave for a swordplay lesson, and that left me in charge.

I decided that we should continue the story, but I thought that we could use some fresh air to relax. We packed the books and snacks and we headed out to Zeus' fist to read.

[]

"Alright is everybody settled in?", I asked.

There were a few 'yeahs' and 'yes'.

"Ok, I'll start reading for today," I said but I couldn't start since someone cleared their throat behind us. We turned to see Uncle Grover.

"Hey, what are you kids doing here?", Grover asked suspiciously.

"Umm were reading," I said hoping he won't tell our parents.

"Bla-ha-ha! Percy's kids reading for fun? This must be one amazing book. Let me see it"

We handed over the books and he looked at them with wide eyes.

"This isn't-" Grover started to say until Deion cut him off.

"It is", he said in a creepy voice. I punched him.

By this time Grover seemed to compose him self. "Do you mind if I read with you? Since I've always wondered what happens in that seaweed filled head of his."

We grinned. "Yeah uncle, were at the part after the bus."

"Cool, I'll read first" Grover confirmed.

"**Chapter 3, Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants" **

Grover moaned and said,"Your dad has a knack for making everyone sound crazy."

"So," Deion started nonchalantly,"Grover what are you doing with no pants?"

"Deion, he is not wearing pants now." I pointed out to him.

"Oh"

"Yeah 'Oh'"I said sarcastically.**  
**

**'Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.'**

"Some promise that turned out to be."Grover mumbled.**  
**

**'I know, I know. It was rude.'**

**'But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"'**

"I would've ditched you too if you were acting like that." Deion said absolutely serious.**  
**

**'Whenever he got upset, Grover's ****bladder**** acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom.'**

We snickered while Grover blushed crimson.**  
**

**'Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.'**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.'**

**'A word about my mother, before you meet her.'**

"She rocks!"

"Nicest lady in the world!", Grover exclaimed.

"She's Awesome!" Deion shouted.

"She appreciates my love for literature" Anders said.

"She makes the bestest cwookies in the world!", Aggie squealed.

'Aww, she is so adorable.' I thought in my head.**  
**

**'Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck.'**

"Wait what?", Deion asked obviously just as confused as I was.

But Grover was nodding looking grim.**  
**

**'Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.'**

"I didn't know that," I said quietly.

Grover nodded and said,"Things were a lot worse for sally back then."**  
**

**'The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad.'**

"AWW! That's SO cute!",Aggie squealed/screamed.

I laughed silently, sometimes Aggie could act like such an Aphrodite girl.**  
**

**'I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.'**

**'See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.'**

**'Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.'**

"That's the truth and a lie, smart," Anders said.

'Anders' I thought, 'What are we going to do with you.'**  
**

**'She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid.'**

Grover snorted then looked at us and said," Now kids THAT is a MAJOR understatement."

Deion, Aggie and I laughed.

Anders didn't because he was too 'Mature'.**  
**

**'Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano,'**

"So this is the guy grandma was married to before Paul", Anders wondered out loud.

"He better be nice," I practically growled.

"What kind of name is 'Ugliano'?", Deion chortled.**  
**

**'who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colours as a world-class jerk.'**

"No wonder why you guys never talk about him", I muttered.**  
**

**'When I was young, I nick named him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like mouldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.'**

"EW!", Aggie yelled.

"I can't believe it," Isaid while my face was showing mock surprise," This guy smells worse than Deion!"

"Hey!"

"Kidding", I said while grinning.**  
**

**'Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.'**

**'I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.'**

**'Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

"Where is he? Tell me were he is so I can beat him up!", I said menacingly.

"Yeah! No ones mweans to daddy!", Aggie yelled putting her pudgy little fist in the air.

Even though it was a threat, she couldn't help from being cute

"Don't worry kids, we got rid of him." Grover said while smiling evilly, which is pretty hard to pull off when you're a tree loving satyr, but he managed.**  
**

**'That was it. No ****_Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?'_**

"Ah", Deion said," You gotta love sarcasm."

"Your dad is like the king of sarcasm." Grover said seriously.**_  
_**

**'Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tusk less walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.'**

"He sounds like a pig," I said grossed out.

"Hey! that's a insult to pigs everywhere!", Deion exclaimed.**  
**

**'He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting pay checks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course.'**

'I can't believe dad had to go through this' we all thought in our heads sadly.**  
**

**'Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.'**

"I don't have any cash," I told him.

"You're dad's a really bad liar," Grover told us solemnly,"Trust me, it's gotton us into a whole Hades of trouble."

"Look whose talking", I muttered.

He glared at me.

I grinned.**  
**

**'He raised a greasy eyebrow.'**

**'Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.'**

We snickered.**  
**

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

**'Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

"Maybe he's nice," Aggie said hopefully.**  
**

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.'**

**'Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.'**

"EW! Forgwet what I said earlier", Aggie said turning a little green.**  
**

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

"Me too", Deion muttered.**  
**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**'I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.'**

**'I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.'**

"I agree with you, Grover he really is the sarcasm king", Anders said seriously. **  
**

**'Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds,'**

**'Or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.'**

**'But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.'**

We tensed.**  
**

**'Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

**'She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.'**

"Awwww. That's sweet.," Aggie said.

I silently agreed, but wasn't going to get all girly and say it out loud.**  
**

**'My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room.'**

**'Her eyes sparkle and change colour in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few grey streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.'**

**'I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.'**

"Man," Deion said," That's some serious patience."**  
**

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**'Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, liquorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.'**

"No wonder dad has such a high addiction to candy", Anders stateed.

Deion started drooling and moaned,"Candy!"

I grinned,'He is so much like dad.'**  
**

**'We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?'**

**'I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.'**

Grover grinned and said,"He is such a mama's boy."**  
**

**'From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**'I gritted my teeth.'**

As did we.**  
**

**'My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.'**

**'For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself.'**

**'I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.'**

**'Until that trip to the museum ...'**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"Don't lie!", Aggie tried to say seriously but that's kind of hard when you're cute as a button.**  
**

**'I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.'**

"No it wouldn't," Grover said gaining some odd looks,"What? She's clear sited."

"Oh"**  
**

**'She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.'**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**'My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**'She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**'I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.'**

Deion started to say,"No money my-"

"Deion!"**  
**

**'Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

**'I wanted to punch him,'**

"Do it!" Aggie yelled trying to look menacingly.**  
**

**'But I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.'**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**'Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

"He better." I growled.**  
**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your step father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

"Bribery," Deion said,"My respect for Grandma Sally rises everyday."**  
**

**'Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.'**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**'Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

"Why should he apologize for a 'super important poker game'?", I said making air quotes.**  
**

**'Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.'**

Deion chuckled darkly with a devious look in his eye, I should probably check that later.**  
**

**'But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.'**

**'Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?'**

Anders suddenly snapped his fingers and asked Grover,"Is it what I think it is?"

Grover nodded leaving us confused.**  
**

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

We snickered.**  
**

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.'**

**'He went back to his game.'**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**'For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air.'**

We tensed.**  
**

**'But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.'**

**'An hour later we were ready to leave.'**

**'Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.'**

"Jerk"

"Son of a Gorgon",

Me and few others chorused.**  
**

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"Like he'd be the one driving", Deion exclaimed.**  
**

**'Like I'd be the one driving.'**

We laughed.

Deion blushed.**  
**

**'I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.'**

**'Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe.'**

Grover laughed knowing what would happen.**  
**

**'The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the stair case as if he'd been shot from a cannon.'**

Que a roar of laughter.**  
**

**'Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.'**

**'I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.'**

**'Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets,'**

"That's why when you visit Montauk, your dad has to leave earlier to clean out the spiders for your mother."Grover explained.**  
**

**'And most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in. I loved the place.'**

**'We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.'**

**'As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.'**

**'We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.'**

"Ah blue food," Deion said, starting to drool again.**  
**

**'I guess I should explain the blue food.'**

"Yeah, I've always wondered why," I pondered out loud.**  
**

**'See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop.'**

"This makes me want to eat even more blue food, since it started just to annoy Gabe." I said.**  
**

**'This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano'**

"I'm trying to imagine that, but it's imposable." Deion said.

We nodded. Sally Ugliano was just a horrible name.**  
**

'—**was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.'**

Grover snorted and said," More like an obedience streak and everything else is rebellious."**  
**

**'When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.'**

"And she did", Grover said,"Eventually."**  
**

**'Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.'**

"It's the same for all the other half bloods." Grover said, He's probably been asked about the Olympians from their children.**  
**

"**He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**'I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.'**

Anders gasped and wheezed out," Six...Schools..in...Six...Years!"

I rolled my eyes.**  
**

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**S'he watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**'I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.'**

"He visited daddy when he was wittle, that's sweet." Aggie said.**  
**

**'I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me...'**

**'I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.'**

"It was for the best," I heard Grover mutter.**  
**

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**'She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.'**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"**

"Remind me to smack dad the next time we see him", I told to Deion.

He pulled out a notepad and wrote," Tell Letta to smack dad."**  
**

**'I regretted the words as soon as they were out.'**

I turned to Deion again and said,"Erase that."

He grumbled but did it any way.**  
**

**'My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**'Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.'**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said**.'

We snorted.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

Anders was about to say something but me and Deion chorused in a bored tone," Monsters, we know Anders."

Anders looked appalled.**  
**

**'She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.'**

**'During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.'**

"Something tells me that was not a friendly cyclops like Tyson," Deion declared.

"No dip Sherlock," Anders shot out.

'Anders' I thought,'sometimes I wish I'd smothered you with a pillow when you were younger'

Before a fight could break out Grover kept on reading.**  
**

**'Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.'**

"Like Heracles," I said in awe.**  
**

But Grover seemed timid, like Heracles was not on his 'top ten old greek heroes list'.

**'In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.'**

**'I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.'**

"Maybe if he told her then that night might'eve turned out different", Grover said sadly causing me to fear what happens next.**  
**

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"Yeah! Go camp half-blood!", Deion screamed making many fly out of their trees, squawking.

Then Grover shuddered and pointed to the birds and said,"Those birds have a very colorful language."**  
**

**'My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?'**

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**'She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.'**

**'That night I had a vivid dream.'**

"Oh no"

"What?"

"Your dad has very prophetic and scary dreams, I am sOo glad I don't have Demigod dreams," Grover said.**  
**

**'It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.'**

"Those are Zeus and Poseidon's symbol animals,"Anders said.

"I bet Poseidon!", Deion yelled as he tossed two Dracmas on the ground.

He started looking at us expectantly then he realized we weren't when he saw our ' You've got to be kidding me' looks.

He grumbled and snatched up the money.**  
**

**'The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.'**

**'I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes,'**

"Darn I lost," Deion muttered who was still gloomy that no one would take his bet.

**'and I screamed, ****_No!'_**

**'I woke with a start.'**

**'Outside, it really was storming; the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.'**

**'With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**'I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.'**

"I wonder why grampa's forgotten", Deion said trying to get a laugh, no one did.

I got up and slapped him upside the head.**  
**

**'Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.'**

We tensed.**  
**

**'Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.'**

We looked at Grover.**  
**

**'My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock. Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.'**

"let me guess," Deion said pointing at Grover," you were running around with no pants"

Grover blushed while we laughed.**  
**

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**'My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.'**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**'I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.'**

**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**'I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—'**

We snickered as Grover's blush deepened.**  
**

**'And where his legs should be ... where his legs should be...'**

"Yeah, I'd be freaked out too if my best friend was half goat,"I said.**  
**

**'My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "****_Percy_****. Tell me ****_now_****!"**

**'I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.'**

**'She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**'Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.'**

**'Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.'**

"Way to be subtle Grover," Deion said.

Grover, who ignored that comment quickly flipped the next page and handed it to Anders.**  
**

**[]  
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**Review!  
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**Yay! Cookies! (::) (::)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Percy's kids read the Lightning Thief**

**[]**

**Disclaimer...**

_I_Don't_own_PJO_or_HoO_

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**WAZZUP!  
**

**COOKIES!  
**

**(::) (::)  
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[]

Anders cleared his throat dramatically and started to read.

"**My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting,"**

"I didn't know gramma was a bullfwighter," Aggie said peering at me with those unsettling green eyes that seemed to pull the truth out of me.

"She isn't," I murmured.

I noticed Grover shift around like he was guilty, but I decided to set it aside.**  
**

**'We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind shield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.'**

**'Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants.'**

We all slowly looked at Grover, who was blushing, and burst out laughing.**  
**

**'But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.'**

**'All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?" **

"Way to make it awkward, dad," I said.**  
**

**'Grover's eyes flitted to the rear view mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

"Stalker!", Deion yelled pointing at Grover.

"That's what keepers do, Idiot,' Anders exclaimed.

I pushed him over, making him fall.

He grumbled and started reading again.**  
**

**"Watching me?"**

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I ****_am _****your friend."**

**"Urm ... what ****_are _****you, exactly?"**

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

"Doesn't matter? if that happened to me I'd be freaking out!", I said.**  
**

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

"Oh on, you do not want to tell a satyr that," Deion said while shuddering.

Grover grinned remembering the incident when Deion called a satyr a donkey, and the satyr chased him around camp trying to beat him with his reed pipes.**  
**

**'Grover let out a sharp, throaty "****_Blaa-ha-ha_****!"**

**'I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.'**

**"Goat!" he cried.'**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a ****_goat _****from the waist down."**

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

"He has a point," Anders pointed out.**  
**

**"**_**Blaa-ha-ha**_**!** **There are satyrs who would trample you under hoof for such an insult!"**

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a ****_myth, _****Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you ****_admit _****there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

Que face-palms.**  
**

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

"My brain would explode if I had to go trough this," Deion said.**  
**

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

**'The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.'**

We tensed.**  
**

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"Wow Grover, weren't you trying to calm him down? Not freak him out?", I asked him incredulously.

"I- Uh- oh- um-whatever," Grover stuttered out putting his face in his hands while we laughed.**  
**

**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**'I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.'**

**'My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.'**

"Almost twere," Aggie said with her eyes closed shut and her fingers crossed.**  
**

**"Where are we going?" I asked.'**

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

Suddenly it felt like the temperature dropped a little. Probably the wind, I thought hopefully.**  
**

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

"Seriously Grover," I looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

He blushed and mumbled," Oops,"**  
**

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in ****_me._****"**

**"I meant ****_you, _****like 'someone.' Not you, ****_you._****"**

Anders had his head in his hands and said," I can see why mom calls him 'Seaweed Brain.'**  
**

**"Boys!" my mom said.'**

"Good she stopped it that conversation was starting to confusing me," I said.

"Starting? It was confusing to start with!", Deion exclaimed.

'Oh Deion what are we going to do with you,' I thought shaking my head fondly.**  
**

**'She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.'**

**"What was that?" I asked.'**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question.'**

**"Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

We found ourselves muttering the same thing under our breath.**  
**

**'I didn't know where ****_there _****was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.'**

**'Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really ****_hadn't _****been human. She'd meant to kill me.'**

"No duh," Grover said.**  
**

**'Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling ****_boom!, _****and our car exploded.'**

"Wait what?!", everyone screamed except Grover, who didn't help by saying.

"Finally!, I get what know what happened when I was knocked out,"

"What?!" we screamed again.

"Continue!," Grover yelled at Deion.**  
**

**'I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.'**

**'I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

"Couldn't have summed it up better myself," Deion said grudgingly.**  
**

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.'**

**"I'm okay..."**

**'I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell'**

**'Lightning.'**

We all slowly looked up at the sky.

"What was that for!", Deion yelled stupidly.

Thunder boomed.

Deion, wisely, shut his trap.**  
**

**'That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

"Is he dead?", Deion whispered.

We all looked at him strangely.

"Oh," He looked down, blushing, realizing what he said.**  
**

**'He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!'**

"Well that's nice,I guess," Aggie said, tilting hir head in confusion.

Meanwhile Grover was trying to hide his blush.**  
**

**'Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.'**

We let out a roar of laugher, and Grover sank lower into the grass.

"Well that's an interesting way to put it," I said between laughs.**  
**

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**'I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made'  
**

"It isn't-," I started to say then Grover looked at me seriously and said," It is."

I looked over to Anders, who seemed to understand what it was.

I gulped**  
**

**'I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

"Don't ask! Just get out!," We all yelled in frustration.**  
**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**'My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.'**

"Get out, Get out, Get out!," I chanted quietly.

I didn't know why, but something about what's about to happen made me think of that giant horn hanging proudly on the living room wall.**  
**

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

_**"What?"**_

**'Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.'**

"Sooo close," We moaned. Our dad has the worse luck in the world, so this is probably going down with a fight.  
And that didn't make me feel better.**  
**

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

He won't do it, I thought, he never leaves anyone behind, much less his mother.**  
**

**"Mom, you're coming too."**

**'Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.'**

**"No!" I shouted. "You ****_are _****coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.'**

Grover looked down and said," I should have helped,"

"Dwere was nothing you cwould do Uncle Grover, You gwot hit by wightning," Grover couldn't help but smile about what she said.

'That's how she gets the monsters,' I thought silently,' First she's all cute, then BAM! she's standing victoriously over a pile of gold dust.

I shuddered slightly, she can be scary when she wants to.**  
**

**'The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he ****_couldn't _****be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns…'**

"It's the minotaur! The minotaur is after dad!," Deion yelled and we all gave him warning looks.

Thunder boomed dangerously, Deion mumbled an apology and sat down. He motioned impatiently to keep reading, wanting to know what happens next.**  
**

**"He doesn't want ****_us_****," my mother told me. "He wants ****_you. _****Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**'I got mad, then—mad at my mother,'**

"Bad daddy," Aggie scolded.**  
**

**'at Grover the goat,'**

We snickered slightly at Grover.**  
**

**'at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.'**

"More like half bull," Anders muttered.

I rolled my eyes at him, while my insides were screaming' Stop being a know-it-all!'**  
**

**'I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

"Awww!," Aggie said making Grover blush.**  
**

**'I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.'**

**'Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass.'**

**'Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of **_**Muscle Man **_**magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except under wear—** **I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.'**

**'His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.'**

"He has the weirdest way of describing things," Grover said shaking his head.**  
**

**'I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real.'**

**'I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

"Don't,"**  
**

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said.'**

"Good." I said approvingly.

"Umm, Letta?," Deion.

"Yeah."

"You're talking to the book." Deion pointed out trying not to let out his laughter.

"Uh- I- um- well- ugh! Shut up!," I yelled at Deion, who was rolling around with laughter.

I trew wood chips at his face, he got the message, 'Stop laughing or die by wood chips!'**  
**

**"I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

"Wow, that's very reassuring," Deion said sarcastically.**  
**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

"Smart, she got prepared."**  
**

**'The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.'**

**'I glanced behind me again.'**

**'The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.'**

We tensed.**  
**

**"Food?" Grover moaned.'**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

Anders looked flabbergasted,"Even I didn't know that!."

Deion took out a camera and took a picture of Anders stunned face.

"Why did you do that?" I asked.

He looked at me and said," Kodak moment."**  
**

"Oh"

**'As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.'**

_**'Not a scratch, **_**I remembered Gabe saying.'**

**'Oops.'**

We let out a roar of cheers.

"Take that Gabe!," Deion screamed.

Some birds in the trees squawked at him.

"I don't care what you think!," he yelled back just as loud.**  
**

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

"She could never be selfish," we all said in unison.

During the awkward silence we all looked at each other strangely.**  
**

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**'Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.'**

**'He'd smelled us.'**

Looks like the tense atmosphere was back, great, note the sarcasm.**  
**

**'The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.'**

**'The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.'**

**'My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

**'I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.'**

**'He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.'**

Aggie started to freak out a little, but I calmed her down.

"He's alive," I reminded her.

She calmed a little.**  
**

**'The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.'**

**'So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.'**

We let out a sigh of relief.**  
**

**'The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.'**

We all sucked in a breath.**  
**

**'We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.'**

**'The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.'**

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**'But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.'**

"Wait this isn't possible."

"Grandma sally's alive."

We all turned to Grover for answers.

He sighed and said," She's not going to die,calm down, she just being taken, so don't freak out."

We all sat down.**  
**

**"Mom!"**

**'She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**'Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.'**

"Calmdown," Grover said, seeing all our frantic looks," Not dead, taken."**  
**

**"No!"**

**'Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons.'**

"Que butt kicking dad!" Deion exclaimed fist pumping the air.**  
**

**'The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.'**

**'I couldn't allow that.'  
**

I could practically feel the blush coming off Grover.**  
**

**'I stripped off my red rain jacket.'**

"Oh no"**  
**

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"Wow, those are just great insults,"Deion said sarcastically.

"If you were being chased by a half bull would you have time to think of better insults?", I asked him.

"No."

"My point proven."**  
**

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.'**

**'I had an idea—a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all.'**

"No", we all except Grover moaned, What? We are young and we all know that dad's stupid ideas are just plain stupid.**  
**

**'I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.'**

**'But it didn't happen like that.'**

"Of course it didn't," I said in exasperation.**  
**

**'The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.'**

I'm starting to realize that dad's a lot smarter than he lets on.**  
**

**'Time slowed down.'**

**'My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck.'**

**'How did I do that?'**

"How should we know?", Deion asked the book like he expected it to talk.

Anders and I face palmed.**  
**

**'I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.'**

**'The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.'**

**'The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.'**

**'Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.'**

**"Food!" Grover moaned.'**

Grover blushed, _Again._**  
**

**'The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light,** **and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—**_**snap!'**_

"What the #% *#!," Deion yelled in surprise.

"Deion!," I shouted as I covered Aggie's ear, Good thing she didn't hear it because I didn't want her running up to our parents saying," Hey mommy, daddy what does #% *#! mean?"

I shuddered thinking about it._**  
**_

**'The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.'**

**'The monster charged.'**

Even though dad's alive, I was scared for his well being.**  
**

**'Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.'**

**'The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.'**

Everyone jumped up and down, whooping, even Anders.

"He didn't even have a weapon, but he killed it," Deion said in awe. Anders looked at Deion thinking,' Maybe my brother's matureing, but his dreams were smashed when Deion got a wild look in his eye and yelled,"Wicked!"

Anders sighed.**  
**

**'The monster was gone.'**

**'The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief. I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farm house. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.'**

Grover was sniffling, glad to have a friend like him.**  
**

**'The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's.'**

"That's mommy!," Aggie said happily being able to know something and say it before Anders.

"So Grover, when will they be at each others throats," I asked nonchalantly.

He grinned,"Soon."**  
**

**'They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

"Why did she say it like that, people will think she means differently," Deion said pointing towards Aggie, who was cooing thinking they were about to run off into the sunset.**  
**

**"Silence, Annabeth," **

**'the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

Anders shut the book and looked a Deion with raised eyebrows," Can you read this?" He said like he was taking to a 2-year-old.

He glared at him and looked like he wanted to smack him, Oh yeah, another thing we inherited from dad, Anger problems.

Deion manage to force a smile and replied very snarky," Of course, super nerd."

Trying to keep peace I said," just read" in Deion's ear.

He grumbled, but flipped open the book and started to read.**  
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**REEEEEEVIEEEEEEW! (review)  
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**Pwease!  
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**_,+''+,_,+''+,_,+''+,_  
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	6. Chapter 6 pinocele half horse

**Percy's kids read lightning Thief**

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**I am so friggen sorry!  
**

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**WARNING: Extreme uses of cuteness, BE WARNED!**

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**Disclaimer...**

**"BLAH BLAH BLAH**

**I hereby say that I don't own PJO or HoO.**

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**Oh I've gotta joke, Why did the cactus cross the road?  
**

**Because he was stuck to the chicken!  
**

***Crickets*  
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**Whatever I'll just get on with the story.  
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**[]**

"Deion!"

"What?" Deion replied.

"Are you gonna read?", I asked getting annoyed.

"Read wha- oh yeah!"

Face-palm.**  
**

"**I Play Pinochle With a Horse,"**

"Oh! Chiron's not gonna like that!," chortled Deion.

"Read Deion," I growled knowing that Deion was going to most of the interruptions.**  
**

**'I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.'**

We all stole weird glances at Grover, who was blushing beet red.**  
**

**'I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.'**

"AWW! Mommy was daddy's nurse!," Aggie squealed.

I only managed to not to stuff my fingers in my ears, I looked at the others they didn't look much better.

'It could be worse,' I thought,' If Aphrodite was here, she would've busted all our eardrums from her squeal.'**  
**

**'When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

**'I managed to croak, "What?"**

**'She looked around, as if afraid someone would over hear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

**'Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding.'**

"That's one way to shut him up," Grover said, trying not to laugh.**  
**

**'The next time I woke up, the girl was gone.'**

"Aw-"

"Aggie! He was just saying that she left, You don't have to get all Aphrodite on us," Deion grumbled the last part as he rubbed his temples.

Aggie huffed.**  
**

**'A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had blue eyes- at least a dozen of them- on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.'**

" You know, I think it impossible to blind fold him," Deion said thoughtfully.

We all looked at him weirdly, even though we were thinking the same thing.**  
**

**'When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt**.'

"How would know what it feels like to have a scorpion in his mouth?," I questioned, thinking how insane my father was and still is.

**'On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.'**

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.'**

**'Grover was leaning against the ****porch railing****, looking like he hadn't slept in a week.'**

"Actually it was only three days," Grover mumbled looking down.

Again was an unfamiliar pang of sympathy, I had never asked what Grover did before he was Lord of the Wild, they had such hard lives. Compared to us, our lives seem like a cakewalk.**  
**

**'Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, not the goat boy.'**

We snickered and mumbled," Goat boy,"

He glared at us, but his lips were slightly curling upwards.**  
**

**'So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...'**

We looked down, in no way we could understand what dad was going through.**  
**

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**'Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.'**

**'Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.'**

**"The Minotaur," I said.'**

**"Urm, Percy, it isn't a good idea-"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

"He just loves breaking the rules," Anders said, shaking his head.**  
**

**'Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**'He looked down.'**

Like he was now.**  
**

**'I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.'**

**'My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.'**

"That's so sweet," Aggie cooed, while sniffling.

I couldn't help but nod.

Deion gaped at my girlyness.**  
**

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm- I'm the worst satyr in the world."**

"Don't say that!," we all screeched at Grover.

I thought I heard him mumble while rubbing his ears," You kids are definitely related to your mother."**  
**

**'He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off.'**

"Ahh!"

**'I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.'**

"Oh! If I saw that, and I did not know about the gods I would start screaming like crazy," Deion chortled.

I nodded in agreement, if that happened, FREAKY.**  
**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.'**

**'Thunder rolled across the clear sky.'**

**'As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.'**

**'Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head.'**

Grover cover his head and glared at Deion and said," Don't get any ideas, Deion!."

Deion pouted.**  
**

**'But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.'**

**'I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe?'**

"Gods no," we all exclaimed.**  
**

**'No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. I'd do something.'**

"I seen the pictures of him when he was younger, trust me, he couldn't even pass for a 9 year old." I joked.

They laughed.

'They should have seen me when I was younger' Grover shuddering at the thought of them finding a very old picture of himself.**  
**

**'Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid- poor goat, satyr, whatever- looked as if he expected to be hit.'**

**'I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to ****_protect _****you."**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

**"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.'**

"See?! Another water pun!, I exclaimed.**  
**

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.'**

**'I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies.'**

At this point Deion was drooling as much as dad.**  
**

**'And not just any cookies- my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.'**

"AWWW!"

"Aggie! Shhh! "**  
**

**'Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.'**

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.'**

**'I nodded.'**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.'**

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

"NOO!," we all screeched making a squirrel fall out of a tree and it started yelling at us, or what we thought was yelling. Because Grover flinched and said 'sorry a couple of times.**  
**

**'His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Home made."**

**'He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

"Is that a good thing?," Aggie asked looking at us with those big green adorable eyes.

"Good for dad, Bad for Nancy," I said grinning.

Aggie smiled evilly.**  
**

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**'He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

**'The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.'**

**'My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.'**

We all looked down even though we knew that she survived. Dad's right she is the most wonderful person in the world.

The air grew cold, the birds stopped singing, the wind frooze.

What had she gone through in her long life as a demigod's mother?

Certainly her life is filled with panic-attacks from all the stupid-life risking things that my father did. And I'm pretty sure we are all gonna be having panic-attacks too.**  
**

**'As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.'**

**'We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture: an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena; except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.'**

Anders snorted.

**'Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.'**

"Awww!-"

"Aggie! Are you going to do that every time mom is in the book?! Because I am starting to get a mirgraine." I said rubbing my temples, I love Aggie to death, but dam, she sure can be annoying.**  
**

**'The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels- what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park.'**

We snickered as thunder boomed dangerously,

"I wonder what whould've happened if he said that out loud," Deion said thoughtfully.

Grover shuddered," You don't want to know," he said gravly.

We stopped laughing and stared at the sky wondering what the wine god could do to us. I was hoping I would never learn that.**  
**

**'He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my step father.**.'

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase."**

"Awww-"

"AGGIE! Shut The Hades Up!," Deion yelled banging his head on a tree.

Aggie huffed and stuck out her touge.

I rolled my eyes, she'll get over it.**  
**

**'She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**'He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.'**

**'First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.'**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.'**

"Oh, Come one! He just said his name!," Anders exclaimed in exasperation.

I rounded on him," If you'd just known a man for 6 months and suddenly his name is different after one person saying it, would you call him by his new name?," I asked grinning evilly at his bewildered face.

I heard Deion mutter," Whipped!,"**  
**

**'The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers ****_B_****.'**

"Now that! Would be the only test that Letta would get an A on." Deion said before I could say the same thing to him.

I narrowed my eyes," Did you just 'Anders' me?" I said accusingly.

"Oh yes I did," Deion said wiggling his eyebrows.

I mock gasped." How dare you!"

Meanwhile Anders was getting frustrated that we were using his name for a term for when people insult someone elses intelligence. He was about to insult them, but stopped seeing how stupid that would make him look, so he just pouted.**  
**

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

"Random."**  
**

**'He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

"Nice to meet you to," Deion muttered sarcastically.

I grimaced, Deion really hates Mr.D since ever since he got all the high scores on Pac-man, In a fit of retaliation, Mr.D refers to him as the 'runt.'

Like Mr.D always says,' The feelings mutual.'**  
**

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, ****_if _****there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.'**

"Dad's never told us he was a satyr!," Deion exclaimed in mock surprise.

Grover nodded to me and I walked to him and slapped him upside the head.**  
**

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.'**

**'She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy.'"**

"..."

We all looked at Aggie expectantly, she looked like she was holding her breath, her face was getting purple.

I sighed,"Go on," I motioned for her to let it out.

"Take cover!," Deion screamed and tackled an unsuspecting Grover.

3...2...1...0

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWHHHHHHHH! SHE WAS HIS NURSE!?"

After that we sat shell-shocked for a second with ringing in our ears, then we continued.**  
**

**'Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

** "Sure, Chiron." Annabeth said.'  
**

**'She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.'**

**'She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, ****_You killed a minotaur! _****or ****_Wow, you're so awesome! _****or something like that.'**

"He is such a megalomaniac," Scoffed Anders thinking he was so cool.

"What the heck does that mean!?", Deion asked in exasperation.

"It mean-," Anders started.

"Just read," I commanded while rubbing my temples.**  
**

**'Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

Currently a certain Hunter of Artemis was gazing out upon camp halfblood from the hill she knew so well.

Suddenly, in the direction of the forest, a loud burst of laughter. She even saw a couple of birds sqwacking angrily and flying away.

Smirking, she grabbed her bow and arrows," It's time I ruined their fun."

And with that she headed down Half blood hill.

**'Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.'**

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

We all snorted, dad and his swaveness.

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex-Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

"Oh no..." Deion moaned," Even I know not to be that stupid."

**'Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly.'**

"Trust me, it's much worse in person," I said holding my hands up. Hey, I'm talking from experience, he is loud.

**"Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."**

"Ohhh! I didn't think Chiron had a bad side, Grover, what did Chiron do?", Deion asked.

"We gave the teacher a year long vacation." Grover said as if it were exciting.

"Oh," Deion said, looking crestfallen, thinking that there was going to be at least some action.

**'I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.'**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.'**

**'Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first.'**

**'"We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.'**

**"You ****_do _****know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.'**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.'**

**"I'm afraid not, ****_sir_****," he said.'**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.'**

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all ****_civilized _****young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.'**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun-Chiron, why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**'Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**'The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.'**

**'Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, ****_I _****was his star student. He expected ****_me _****to have the right answer.'**

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'"**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked.'**

**'He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.'**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

"He's missing out, that thing awesome!," Deion exclaimed.

We all nodded, Man, he was missing out.

**"Orientation film?" I asked.'**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know-" he pointed to the horn in the shoe box- "that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods- the forces you call the Greek gods- are very much alive."**

**'I stared at the others around the table.'**

**'I waited for somebody to yell, ****_Not!'_**

"NOT!", Deion yelled, and cackled evilly as we all screamed at him and threw stuff at him.

When we eventually calmed down Deion started reading with the occasionally being hit in head with sticks.

**'But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.'**

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

"Sure, yeah that's completely normal." I said waving my hand.

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**'Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.'**

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as god."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God- capital ****_G_****, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about-"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

"Oooo, That's gonna deflate Zeus's ego," Deion said.

Lightning flashed dangerously.

"Sorry!", Deion squeaked.

**"Smaller?"**

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

**'And there it was again, distant thunder on a cloud less day.'**

(Thunder)

"Seriously? More thunder?, It said it in the book, we've got it covered." Deion stated.

(Thunder)

"You are definitely related to your father," Grover mumbled, Deion beamed," You inherited your dad's ability to tick off your dad."

Deion still smiled.

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're- myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"-I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody- "what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals- they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come ****_so-o-o _****far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**'I wasn't liking Mr. D much,'**

"Me neither man, me neither," Deion said putting a hand on his heart.

**'but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't.'**

This time even Aggie thought her dad was dumb.

**'It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.'**

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that ****_immortal _****means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

"He had 2 chances to but he said 'no'", Grover muttered quietly enough for no one to hear.

**'I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.'**

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.'**

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that some day people would call ****_you _****a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

"Chiron! Don't be a meanie!," Aggie scolded the book.

"Yeah, Chiron, Too far," Deion said seriously.

**'My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

"Still as stubborn as ever," Grover mumbled.

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

**'Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

**'He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.'**

**'My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.'**

"What makes me feel crazy, is that they so used to that," I said.

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.'**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

We snorted.

**'More thunder.'**

**'Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.'**

**'Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.'**

"Space Coke!"

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me."**

"By now I think it's more like Zeus is punishing us," Deion said seriously.

**'The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time- well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away- the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."'**

**'Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.'**

(thunder) We sniggered.

**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

Anders was rubbing his forehead, which by now was as red as an apple.

**_"Di immortales, _****Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**'I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.'**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

"Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner!," Anders said, sarcastically.

We all just stared at him.

"What?" He asked irritably.

"You just might be related to your father," Grover said with wide eyes.

"How so?," Anders asked, he looked like he was getting scared.

"You used sarchaism," After uttering those words Anders got on his knees and screamed in terror.

"Hey you!," Grover yelled pointing to some birds who were squawking angrily,"1! If you don't like the noise go somewhere else! And 2! Who is teaching you all these cuss words!?"

**'Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

Deion snorted,"In fact, the opposite."

We tred to smother our laughs as thunder boomed again.

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

"I've gotta admit," I said laughing," He's got guts."

**'He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.'**

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.'**

**"No. No, sir."**

**'The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

Deion looked at the book a little, then sighed," I thought my dyslexsia was acting up, Mr.D would never win a game,( thunder) And I thought I was going crazy, but it says he loses later."

We nodded in understanding.

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

**'I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too.'**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, ****_again, _****about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

Grover shuddered,it was not a memorie that he was able to forget.

**'Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**'Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

**'He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.'**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.'**

"Daddy is the sweetist person next to gwandmwa," Aggie said.

**'Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job.'**

**'He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

"Yep it's weely pretty," Aggie said while nodding her head vigorously making her blonde curls fly around her.

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in ****_America_****?"**

Cue face-palm from Anders.

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

**"The what?"**

Anders was now rubbing his temples, muttering under his breath.

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know- or as I hope you know, since you passed my course- the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps- Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on- but the same forces, the same gods."**

**"And then they died."**

Anders looked around frantically to see if anyone else was just as concern as him that his dad was stupid.

No one was.

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture.'**

"Ugh, If mom was her she would start talking like crazy about buildings, I fall asleep in them almost as much as those long lectures Chiron gives new campers.**"  
**

**'People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not- and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, either- America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

"ZZZZZZZ-gurgle-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-snort-ZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

"Deion, Wake up!," Anders shouted.

"GURG -snort, Whhaa happen," Deion said sleepily.

"You fell asleep idiot, now lets get on with the story!"

**'It was all too much, especially the fact that ****_I _****seemed to be included in Chiron's ****_we, _****as if I were part of some club.'**

Deion started to open his mouth, but I glared at him and said," Don't you even think about making a club just for demi gods."

I heard him mutter," Well, now that you've said it I'm gonna think about it."

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

"He's the bestest Daddy evvwa!," Aggie said so cutely I had to resist the urge to coo at her pudgy cheeks and wide eyes.

**'Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.'**

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

"No wonder everytime he finds me with chocolate, he takes it and says it's not allowed in camp," realization dawned in Deion eyes then they turned stormey.

"He'll pay for that!", Deion shouted.

"Sure he will," I said yawning,"Read."

**'And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.'**

"I would've loved to see his face, 2 of his closest friends from the school, and they both turned out to be half barn yard animal!" Deion joked.

We laughed, but Grover turned a slight red.

**'I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.'**

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

Wizzzzz!

An arrow lodged itself into the tree right next to Deion, scaring him half to death. A figure stepped out of the woods still laughing.

Aggie leaped up and screamed ,"THALIA!"

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**ReViEw!  
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